Ever After was Mine
by Erasmith
Summary: AU Naruto dies and with a stroke of luck, or maybe it was just the Gods messing with him, he ends up reborn memories intact. It's a bit of a wonder how it took him so long to realize that the little brother he calls Minato would have been his father in his first life. NarutoXHarem MinatoXKushina, lemons and limes are to be expected.
1. Is This Really Happening?

**This idea wouldn't leave me alone. Sorry, not sorry.**

 **Standard disclaimer.**

* * *

"Bastard, you're coming home with us." Naruto smiled over his shoulder, past the blood staining the ground between them and to Sasuke who scowled right back at him.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura scream as black dots started to fill his vision.

Sakura's face loomed in close to his own and he focused on her, "I did it. I brought him back for you Sakura-chan." He said softly, struggling to articulate his words.

Tears dripped onto his face from Sakura's eyes, "you idiot." Her voice was soft and it broke at the end, "not at the cost of your life." She sobbed and choked out, "I wanted us all to be together, as a family again. I want you to stay with us Naruto." Her hands lit up green, but they flickered and there wasn't much of it. "I can't save you, I don't have enough chakra." The tears came faster. "Please don't go?" She begged gently touching his face.

It was so very hard to see her face anymore. Black mostly filled his vision, but he could still see her green eyes. A smile was brought to his lips and he coughed up a bit of blood. His ears started to ring, and then he couldn't see her face anymore.

"NARUTO!" Her anguished cry was the last thing he heard.

* * *

When he came to he wasn't anywhere he recognized. For one it was dark, and for another, his eyes would not open. Where ever he was it was warm and inviting. It felt safe and he felt loved. It made absolutely no sense but it calmed his frayed nerves and let him just float.

He wasn't sure how long he had stayed in this warm place when he felt something brush against him. He startled and kicked his feet out coming up against something soft and pliable under his toes. If he could have his eyes would have been as wide a dinner plates. _What on earth was going on?_ He thought frantically as the something from before brushed up against him again. This time he felt a hand, as it needed against his arm. He wasn't alone in here.

After his initial scare from the other being inside this cage with him, his hearing filtered in and he could hear twin heartbeats that went double the speed of the one steady strong one that seemed to echo around this place. Naruto had gotten used to the sounds and eventually curled up with the other being, their skin touching his brought forth feelings of comfort and safety.

Time spent in this increasingly shrinking space was hard for Naruto to measure. He wasn't sure if it was months, years, or even days, it felt like a long time but could have been a matter of hours.

His time here was cut short with blinding pain that went through his entire body, pressure on all sides of his body pushing him towards a dot of light that shined through his sealed eyelids.

He felt giant hands take a hold of his head, something being shoved up his nose, and down his throat, while the rest of him slid out of the slick and wet cage that he had been kept in. A relieved mewl escaped his vocal cords as the pain was suddenly gone.

The hands cradled him and he felt a pull at his belly button. A panicked sound left his mouth and his limbs flailed and his face scrunched up in frustration. He had let his guard down and now they were going to take Kurama from him, he should never have gotten comfortable.

"It's a healthy baby boy, Kazue-san." A light cheery voice said above him.

A wobbly sound that sort of resembled a choked sound accompanied an exhausted female voice. "Can I hold him?"

"Hold on Kazue-san. We aren't quite done yet. We need to get rid of the placenta-" A pain-filled grunt interrupted her. "Kazue-san?" A gasp came from the stern voice. "There's another head crowning. Takara-chan, please relocate the boy. We need to get this other baby out."

"Hai." The woman holding him said. Naruto felt the lady place him among blankets.

"One, two, three, push." The stern voice said over painful sounding grunts. "Good, again, Kazue-san. One, two, three, push."

A strangled cry came from the woman and soon a baby's cry filled the room.

"You did wonderful, Kazue-san," Takara said with a smile. "Two healthy baby boys."

Naruto blinked his eyes open, but the world was still blurry. He was a baby, wasn't he? The other baby's cries faded.

Takara lifted him from the blankets once more and settled him on his 'mother's' chest. "Both of them need to be fed now."

"Hai." An exhausted croak came from the woman he laid atop of. Something prodded the corner of his mouth and instinctual he latched on and began to suck. Another pain filled gasp leaped from Kazue's throat. Milky substance filled his mouth, it was extremely sweet and he guzzled it down.

"Don't worry, your nipples will get used to feeding them soon enough." The stern voice said from behind Naruto.

Naruto spits out the nipple, and he heard Takara giggle. "Come now, baby, you need to eat."

"Kazue-san, what do you plan on naming them?" The stern lady asked she sounded like she was cleaning up in the background.

"Minaka, the oldest and Minato, the youngest," Kazue said breathlessly.

* * *

 **Well, a penny for your thoughts?**

 **NOT A NARUTO X KUSHINA STORY!**

 **I'm thinking of making this a Naruto(Minaka)XHarem story. I already have a total of five girls selected, four of which are Uchiha. If you have any suggestions please keep in mind that if they are Kakashi's age, they are too young, and if they are Tsunade's age, they are too old.**

 **Thanks!**


	2. Meant to Live

**My account told me I had twelve hours left before I could post my story. I had enough time and inspiration to create this second chapter, which is slightly longer than the first. Don't expect the third chapter for a while though, I'm kind of at a loss of where to go with it.**

* * *

"I'm here Kazue." An out of breath male voice stumbled into the hospital room followed by frantic footsteps.

A bittersweet sound escaped Kazue's throat, "Naoki, you're late."

"I'm so sorry, Kazue." Naoki wheezed out, "I came as quick as I was able, but we just got into the village about ten minutes ago."

A sad sigh left Kazue's lungs, "I know, Naoki." She shifted slightly underneath a groggy Naruto, and a sleeping Minato. "Do you- do you want to hold your sons?"

"My- my sons?" Naoki stammered coming closer to the exhausted Kazue, her baby blue eyes watched him half-lidded, her white shoulder length hair was limp and crusted with sweat. His wide sky blue eyes took in the two infants resting on Kazue's bosom. "Twins?" He breathed in awe.

"Hai."

"We made twins."

Kazue let out a croaking chuckle, "yes Naoki. We made twins."

Naoki laughed.

* * *

It actually didn't take very long for Naruto to adjust to the name Minaka. With the way, Kazue would lovingly say the name and gently run her fingers down over his nose or across his cheek in affection. Or whenever Naoki was home he would cradle him and softly murmur his name against his hair.

His heart ached with the feeling of being loved. Occasionally he would wake curled up with Minato in the nursery and lose himself thinking that this was too good to be true, that it was nothing more than a dream. A gloriously lovely dream that he really, really didn't want to wake from. He'd start crying then, and Kazue would lift him out of the cradle.

As he grew older, his eyes got better. His father, Naoki, had dark blonde hair buzzed into a crew cut and warm sky blue eyes that always seemed to glow with mirth and love for his two sons and wife. His father had a soft melodic low voice that he would occasionally use to sing the two boys to sleep. His mother, Kazue, had shoulder length white hair that fell in waves and loving baby blue eyes that seemed to dance with mirth whenever she caught Naoki with their two boys. His mother had a rough husky voice that she used a lot to scold her boys.

Minato grew with him, curled up with him at night, and when they began to crawl, he would crawl to Minaka. Minaka loved the toddler with bright blonde hair and bright blue eyes that were his brother's features.

Naoki wasn't with them the entire time, he missed their first crawling attempts, their first teeth, their first steps, and their first words. Naoki would dramatically cry when he found out each time and would scoop up the two boys and beg for them to forgive him. Minaka would always forgive him, Minato didn't understand but would give their dad an open-mouthed kiss to his cheek anyways.

Then came a time when Naoki didn't return. Kazue had been staying up trying to get the two boys to go to bed. As two-year-olds, they thought it wasn't fair that they had a bed time. Kazue was having none of it though and tucked them into bed when a knock on the front door drew her away.

Minaka crawled out of bed and expertly got out of the cradle and waddled towards the hallway after Kazue. Minato followed a few steps behind, he wasn't quite the master of escaping as Minaka had become. They crept down the hallway and through the living room towards their mother who had just opened the door.

"Kazue Namikaze?" A grizzled voice came from the stranger wearing Konoha's standard Jonin uniform.

"Hai?" She sounded hesitant and nervous.

A heavy sigh came from the man as he held out a black scroll. "I'm sorry."

A strangled sound came from her as her shaky hands reached out and took the scroll from the man. "N-N-Naoki." She choked out a sob and fell to her knees.

"I'm truly sorry." The man said uncomfortable at her display of emotion.

"I understand." She choked out and then thanked him. He left with a burst of speed just after the words left her. An anguished cry left her and she hunched her shoulders in.

Minaka felt tears prickle in his eyes as he ran to his mother's crumpled form. Minato followed a step behind. Minaka touched her shaking back, hearing her sobs hitch as she raised her head to look at the two boys. "Mama."

"Oh, Minaka, Minato." She breathed wrapping both her boys into her arms and pressed them against her heaving chest. "What are we going to do?"

Minaka didn't know how to answer that, so he didn't and nuzzled closer to her.

* * *

After Naoki's funeral, Kazue explained death to her small boys. Most thought she was nuts for trying to explain it to two-year-olds, but Minato was a smart boy and Minaka had understood when he had seen the black scroll that night.

As days went by Kazue had to go back to the active roster to keep the boys clothed and fed. They saw her less and less as the years started to go by.

Minato became Minaka's rock, his solid purchase in this world and Minaka had become Minato's. When Kazue could, she would teach the boys how to fend for themselves. She taught them to cook, something that both boys rather enjoyed, no one had taken the time when Minaka was still Naruto to teach him how to cook before, she taught them how to sew, how to clean properly, how to garden, how to read, how to write, and eventually how to use a Kunai.

Kazue wasn't around often, but Minaka knew a lot of these lessons already and made sure that Minato knew them as well.

When they turned four, Minaka taught Minato about shuriken, how to hold them so they wouldn't cut their fingers and how to aim with them.

Kazue taught them about chakra a month before she signed them up for the academy, just a month after they turned five.

Minaka tapped into his straight away but spent a week in crying fits after struggling to locate Kurama. He felt as if he lost a limb without the grumpy fluff ball. Minato took a week before he could tap into his own chakra.

Minaka eventually came to accept that Kurama wasn't a part of him anymore. His old friend was gone.

* * *

"Boys!" Kazue shouted down the hallway, pulling on her chunin vest. She heard two sets of feet running towards her before she saw her twin terrors.

"Hai, Okaa-san?" Minato asked stopping in front of her in a white jacket outlined in green and a pair of black pants.

Minaka wore a black jacket outlined in orange and a pair of black pants. "Are you going to stay for orientation?"

Kazue frowned, "I'm sorry Minaka, Minato, I have a mission right after. I'll walk you both there but I can't stay."

Minaka frowned but nodded, "I understand."

"It's okay, Okaa-san." Minato smiled and touched her hand.

"Oh, my brave, smart boys." Kazue crowds the both of them into her arms and lovingly placed sloppy, wet kisses to their temples.

"Okaa-san." Both of them cried struggling to get out of her arms.

She laughed and let the two of them go. They quickly wiped the slobber off their temples but gave her small smiles.

"Well, get your shoes on and grab your packs. I've got a bento for the both of you. Hurry, or we all will be late." Kazue shooed the boys on towards the front door.

"Hai." They said together and rushed to grab their packs, brown for Minato, black for Minaka and slipped their sandals on.

Kazue handed them each a bento before she slipped on her own sandals.

* * *

Orientation was weird. Minaka's breath caught in his throat as he recognized Lord Third walk up the pedestal to give a speech to this generation of would-be ninjas. Minaka didn't listen to the speech, too taken aback from someone that he had thought was so old and _dead_ up in front of these kids looking for all of the word young and _alive._ Minaka felt like his head was going to explode. He had gone to the man's funeral, had stood tall with a hand on Konohamaru's shoulder while the other kid wept. He remembered each and every visit with the graying old man. This man in front of him looked healthy and just barely starting to gray, no liver spots on his face and the weird lines on his face was just one.

Minaka didn't know how to feel. Happiness, weariness, disbelief, and confusion all fought against each other. Eventually, he settled on happiness as Hiruzen finished up his speech. His face stretched out into a bright grin and he turned to Minato seeing a similar grin on his face, but for a totally different reason.

Where ever, _when_ ever he was, he liked it.

* * *

 **I cried writing Naoki's brief death.**

 **So, Naruto is kind of dense. All the clues are there for him to realize that his 'little brother' is actually supposed to be his father in another life. Don't worry he will eventually figure it out, just wait a bit yeah?**

 **A triple chocolate fudge sundae with brownie bits for your thoughts?**

 **Thanks!**


	3. Take a Breath, Take a Long Look Around

**Sorry it took so long to get this one out compared to the last chapter, but this was hell writing it.**

* * *

"Hello, class," A man dressed in Konoha's standard. His Hitai-ate centered on his forehead on a bandana wrapping around his head covering most of his brown hair. "My name is Ichirou. I will be your Sensei for your entire stay in the academy."

Minaka promptly lost all motivation to listen to this droning man speak with such a dreary voice. He looked down at the desk, it was only a two seater and the other seat was occupied by Minato who was actually paying Ichirou attention. He didn't want to be here. The idea of spending the next seven years in this building with a man who could bore him faster than watching paint dry was not his idea of fun.

He looked to his left eyes sliding over dark-haired figures, several he could recognize from some of Konoha's great clans. His eyes catch on the Uchiwa fan emblazoned on several small backs. His heart leaped to his throat and his eyes burned. He swallows down the lump and turns back to the front, carefully watching this 'Ichirou'.

If he had known Ichirou from before it would have been one of the many faces that had looked at him and cursed with spittle flying and a kunai at the ready aiming for the 'fox demon' that had been his life. He looked closer thinking that maybe this man should have had more lines on his face. Nothing rings a bell, though, not his shrewd brown gaze, the scars that stitch through his bottom lip, nor the dots on either side of his left eyebrow where he could have sworn the man had a piercing.

None of this was helping. In fact, his brain was starting to throb because none of this made any sense. The only Uchiha he knew growing up, was Sasuke. The only Uchiha's he had ever come across was Itachi, Obito, Sasuke, and that lunatic Madara. Yet, there were Uchiwa covered backs sitting in this classroom with him. The only way this could make any sort of sense was if he had gone back in time. That would actually explain why Hiruzen Sarutobi was still alive and kicking.

That was it. Minaka's eyes widened and he turned to take in the children, the soft smiles, the smiles that were harder to come by than his before. He was somehow in the past.

"Minaka." His blue eyes immediately snapped to Minato. An expression of exasperation took over his brother's features. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking," Minaka replied with a bright smile.

Minato's eyebrow twitched, "pay attention and stop daydreaming."

Minaka rolled his eyes, "this is boring. He is _boring._ Why do we have to be here?"

Minato sighed, "Okaa-San told us that this was required to become a Shinobi just like her and Otou-San."

Minaka frowned and placed his chin on his folded arms on the desktop. "I just don't see how listening to a man who makes paint drying look more interesting talk nonsense to us will help us become great Shinobi." Not to mention that he had already gone through this once already.

Minato sighed and played with a piece of Minaka's hair. "He is pretty boring." Minato agreed with a frown. "Maybe it's just orientation day that makes him so boring?"

"Shhh." Minaka and Minato jump and spin around taking in two pretty brunette girls with dark eyes staring at the two of them. "Ichirou-sensei keeps looking over here. I'd shut up if I were you before he gets mad." The one who looked startling like Sasuke told them.

The other one looked more like Itachi rolled her eyes and pointed towards them, actually beyond them. "Too late."

"Am I interrupting something, you four?" Ichirou-sensei had his hands on his hips frowning at them.

Minato immediately turned back around in his seat. "No of course not Sensei."

Minaka turned back around as well, but it was slower and his blue eyes couldn't seem to let go of the two girls behind him.

* * *

"I'm Uchiha Mikoto." The girl who looked so much like Sasuke it made Minaka's heart clench painfully.

"I'm Uchiha Futaba." The other girl who resembled a female Itachi muttered and crossed her arms over her chest.

"And I'm Uchiha Hazuki, their favorite cousin." Another girl with black hair and black eyes jumped into their conversation waving at Minaka and Minato.

Minaka blinked, his head felt like it was filled with cotton. He was definitely in the past because that right there with the black hair tied back in a topknot was most definitely Sasuke's mother, the one next to her could have been- probably should have been Sasuke's father but the one before them was female.

"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Namikaze Minato and this is my twin, Namikaze Minaka." Minato's eyebrows furrowed and pointed at Minaka with his thumb.

Minaka gave them a grin and a thumbs up but otherwise didn't say anything.

"Right, do you both want to join us for lunch?" Mikoto asked picking up her bag next to her side of the desk.

"Sure." Minaka shrugged picking up his own bag.

* * *

Minaka hated school. Ichirou-sensei's voice literally could put pigs to sleep. He would take out his notebook and doodle in the margins just to keep Minato from pinching him if he didn't look like he was paying attention. It had only been a week but already he felt as if he was sitting through agonizing torture over and over again, day after day.

Today had started off the exact same way. Ichirou-sensei had greeted them and wrote instructions on the blackboard, namely what chapter of the textbook they would be working on. Minaka blinked, _what?_

Minaka swallowed and sat up straighter. Ichirou-sensei had just added two unnecessary dots to the instructions. His eyes slide over the message again (it is saying something about the third chapter), there! It isn't just two dots that were added, no there were extra lines to some of the kanji and even an extra curl to some others.

Minaka copied the message onto his notebook, making sure every extra part of it was included. This actually looked very much like the first code Jiraiya-sensei had tried to teach him, but he couldn't sit still back then and only could remember the very basics. Where every imperfection there was a letter in that word and how many words in between each imperfection was the letter inside the word that would make up the message and every dot was the spaces in between the words.

He quickly locates the first imperfection. It's the very first word with an extra curl to the kanji, a consonant. The word is 'we' and he takes the W and places it underneath the diagram. Quickly he locates the next one, a vowel.

It takes him five minutes but he goes through the entire message and then looks down at the one he uncovered. ' _Welcome to class.'_

Minaka's mouth split into a grin. Maybe, just maybe class won't be so boring anymore.

* * *

 **So I know the whole code thing won't really work because lets face it, I don't know Japanese. I'm literally just translating it directly to English and that is so not how it's supposed to go but it's the only way I can write and not completely fuck it up.**

 **Anyways, can anyone guess why Ichirou-sensei is putting up codes?**

 **Those who answer correctly get a shout out and they can pick out a mission for Minaka and team to do when they graduate.**

 **Reviews are love!**


	4. Give Your Best Shot

' _Be the last one out of the door._ '

That was the hidden objective today, and as such Minaka calmly took his time packing his things away as the other kids around him including his brother stuffed their things in their bags and raced out the door.

"Do you really think that that's the way Konoha came to be?" Mikoto asked, lifting her bag up to her shoulders standing next to Minaka. She and Futaba had gotten into the habit of sitting directly behind the twins. Hazuki drifted and would occasionally take a seat in front of Minaka or near Mikoto and Futaba.

Minaka blinked up at her slightly confused. He hadn't paid any attention to what the lesson had been on, he was too busy sorting out the weird poem that Ichirou-sensei had placed on the board.

"I would like to believe so," Minato answered for him, he had known that Minaka wasn't paying the lesson any attention and had rightfully pinched him a good ten times before the lesson was over.

"It's too romanticized for it to be true, all that brainwashing and self-promoting is what that story is doing." Futaba rolled her eyes and Hazuki appeared over her shoulder.

Recognition settled over Minaka, that's what they were talking about. "I doubt the rival clans settled on a place simply because two men looked out over the Hokage mountain and called this place home."

"They must have at least surveyed the area before." Futaba agreed.

Minaka zipped up his bag, "Found a water source, and had fertile grounds."

"Probably wouldn't have hurt them much to find a place with little trees and an easily defendable border." Futaba had a small almost unnoticeable smile on her face as she looked into Minaka's sky blue eyes.

"Most likely. It would have been a pain to knock down a whole bunch of trees." Minaka grinned.

"Alright, save the flirting for later." Hazuki rolled her eyes and pushed Futaba forward. "Class is over, why are we still here?" She whined and grabbed Minato's wrist to drag him towards the door keeping a hand on Futaba's back the entire time.

Both Futaba and Minaka blushed. "Hey, we weren't flirting!" Minaka called out hurrying after Hazuki and company.

"Sure you weren't." Hazuki drawled near the door. Futaba had escaped her hand and Minato just sort of gave up on trying to get his wrist free. "Futaba was almost _smiling."_ Her mouth quirked into a smirk. "She never smiles, seriously, I think she is completely against it."

"She isn't against it. You just irritate her." Mikoto cut in and poked Hazuki in the chest.

Hazuki pouted, "She likes me." She turns her pout onto Futaba who had moved out of the way of the last kids scrambling for the exit. "You like me, right?"

Futaba raised a brow at her and pressed Mikoto out the door.

"Right?" Hazuki's bottom lip trembled and she let go of Minato to clutch at Futaba's shirt.

Futaba let out an annoyed sound and yanked her off. "Yes, I like you, now march!" Hazuki got pushed out the door.

Minaka and Minato laughed. "I don't know what's worse, having a younger brother-"

"Hey!" Minato punched Minaka's arm.

"Ow, see what I mean?" Minaka threw up his arms and blocked another punch.

"Mikoto and Hazuki take the cake," Futaba said seriously crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Minaka laughed and pushed Minato out the door. He turned to Futaba and gestured to the door with a bright smile on his face, "after you."

Futaba shook her head. "No, after you." She also gestured towards the door.

Minaka's eyebrows furrowed but stood his ground. "I offered first."

Futaba rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist dragging him out the door with her.

* * *

'A good shinobi expends chakra to build reserves a better one uses Chakra and How it Benefits You by Matsumoto Ryuuto'

Minaka clutches the notebook closer to his chest as he walks through the library doors. The air temperature was a drastic change that engulfed his body the second he opened the door. It caused goosebumps to rise on his arms and a shiver to travel down his spine. It was a particularly hot day in November, a heat wave had hit about two days ago and people were starting to think that this phenomenon was the work of nuke ninja.

Minaka shook his head and purposely walked towards the Librarian, who was a slightly anorexic looking old woman. "Excuse me, ma'am." He called out to get the towering woman's attention.

She looked up from the papers that littered her desk, an eyebrow perfectly poised above her rectangular glasses that were perched precariously on the brim of her nose. "Can I help you with something?"

Minaka nodded, "Yes, I'm looking for the book 'Chakra and How it Benefits You' by Matsumoto Ryuuto."

"I see." The woman straightened and stood from behind the desk gaining another two feet to her already impressive height. "Well, kiddo, you aren't the first person to come in here looking for that book. She looks to be the same age as you, maybe she'll share." She waved her hand in a gesture to have him follow her. "Not many people come asking about that book in particular. Most aren't aware of it, and others usually go to a different source."

Minaka chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, "In class, Ichirou-sensei mentioned the usefulness of the book and I thought I'd take a look at it."

Minaka didn't miss the sharp-eyed look the Librarian quickly shot him without turning her head. "Oh? Well, your little classmate said the same thing. She's just right over here." The Librarian gestured to a table that was tucked in between two shelves and next to a window.

Minaka's eyes widened as he recognized Uchiha Futaba hunched over a book at the table. "Ah, thank you...?"

"Shizumi Moe." The woman supplied.

"Ah, thank you Shizumi-san." Minaka smiled at her and bowed before taking off towards Futaba.

"Interesting, what are you planning Ichirou?" He heard Shizumi-san whisper under her breath before she turned around to head back to her desk.

Minaka froze for a second and looked over his shoulder but Shizumi-san had already walked away. He shook his head and continued to Futaba.

"Hey."

Futaba nearly jumped a foot off the chair, her eyes blown wide and hands grabbing the book to use as a makeshift weapon. She swallowed and lowered herself back down into her seat upon noticing Minaka. "Uh, hey." She set the book down on the table in front of her.

"Do you mind sharing? They only have one copy apparently." Minaka laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

Futaba's eyes widened again and a light pink dusting came across her cheeks. She adverted her eyes but slid the book closer to him. "Sure, I don't mind."

Minaka grinned and sat down next to her, putting his over half-filled notebook down and taking out writing equipment.

They studied the book in silence for a while, the only time it was broken was if either of them asked if the other was done with a page.

"How long?" Futaba asked curiously when they had reached the last page.

Minaka frowned at her in confusion, "How long what?"

"How long did it take you to figure out about the codes?" Futaba rolled her eyes and closed her notebook.

"The first week." Minaka shrugged and pushed his now full notebook in front of her and opening it to the very first page. He pointed to the 'Welcome to class' message at the bottom.

Futaba blinked, "Impressive." She turned a few of the pages eyes flashing with understanding. "No wonder you picked daisies that day." She pointed at the 'It's a good day for daisies' message that had been from the second week of school.

Minaka smirked, "I take it that you didn't know about the codes until later?"

She looked up at him with a frown, "About three weeks ago when it said to be the last one out the door."

Minaka's eyes widened. "That makes so much more sense now."

Futaba giggled at him, a smile took over her usually hard and scowling features. Minaka felt his cheeks flush and could only think that she looked pretty cute when she smiled.

* * *

 **I'm sorry that took forever. The first scene finally wrote itself after I changed the whole thing about twelve times, and the last one came so much easier.**

 **Plans for the next chapter: Kushina, and then the Code reveal. ;)**

 **A shout out to the people who guessed the answer to my earlier question and got it mostly correct: InfinityMask, and 3headed-dragon.**

 **The question still stands: What do you think the codes are being used for? Prizes are a shout out and a mission for Minaka and team!**


End file.
